# how much dirt

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-dirt/25771>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 16, 2000, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-dirt/25771 "2000-07-16T23:28:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sn-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sn-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sn-man)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-dirt/25771/1 "2000-07-16T23:28:27Z")

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We recently bought a new (to us) home. There are several areas along the house where the ground “dives” into the foundation. I plan on rectifying the situation and need some information. Two questions: How many feet should the berm extend away from the house? What should the slope of the ground be?

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**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-dirt/25771/2 "2000-07-17T04:15:17Z")

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That would sort of depend where your house is. Here in Hawai’i, foundations are either pier and post or slabs.

If you live in an area where cold entering the house or water in the basement might be a problem…or anything else really, the local building codes should be helpful.